Mental Health, Resilience & Wellbeing Resources

NHS People site

Supporting NHS people and helping you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others

The NHS People site is continually updating its content with support and resources for all NHS staff, including those working in and for primary care. 

As well as hosting details of the primary care coaching offer, the site has published guidance on:

• ‘Shielding and returning to work’
• ‘Guide to Good Sleep’

Please do share these tools widely with your team and remind them of the free wellbeing apps available to all primary care NHS staff:

• Free mental health apps

You can access the 'NHS People' website by clicking the image below:

Mental health apps to support children and young people 

A team across NHSX, NHS Digital, NHS England and NHS Improvement is working to identify a number of digital tools to support children, young people and adults who are experiencing increased mental health needs as a result of COVID-19, disrupted education or end of year exams. 

Healios, the first supplier to complete the process for its ThinkNinja app, has now made this app available to download free of charge to all 10-18 year olds until the end of September.

There are already over 20 existing apps already approved on the NHS Apps library for users to choose from:

• NHS Apps library *

* Please note that some of the apps are not free.

Looking after you too

The NHS frontline primary care colleagues involved in the delivery of Primary Care services, both clinical and non-clinical, are facing unprecedented challenges through COVID-19. To help all staff delivering frontline primary care services feel supported to maintain their psychological wellbeing during this time, a new service is available, thanks to 'Our NHS People'.

Individual coaching support is available with a highly skilled and experienced coach. This will be a space for you to offload the demands of whatever you are experiencing and be supported in developing practical strategies for dealing with this.

You can access the 'Looking after you too' website by clicking on the image below:

Remploy: Access to Work Mental Health Support Service

The 'Access to Work Mental Health Support Service' is delivered by Remploy on behalf of 'Access to Work' across England, Scotland  and Wales. Support is available to individuals who are: 

• in permanent or temporary employment or an apprenticeship (attending work, signed off sick or furloughed)
• feeling stressed or have a mental health condition (diagnosed or undiagnosed)  which has resulted in absence from work or difficulty undertaking duties and responsibilities whilst at work

This service is of no cost to the organisation or its employees and complements any Occupational Health scheme or Employee Assistance Programme an organisation already has in place. 

The service is delivered by a team of Vocational Rehabilitation Consultants (VRCs) who are fully trained professionals with expertise in mental health and its impact in the workplace.

This tailored support includes:

• Workplace focused support for 9 months
• Job role and condition coping strategies
• A wellbeing plan
• Recommendations for reasonable workplace adjustments
• Engaging with your employer to discuss your support, if you'd like us to
• Support provided in an appropriate environment in respect of the individuals wishes

You can access the 'Access to Work Mental Health Support Service' by clicking on the image below:

Further useful links are:

• Access to Work website: Access to Work
• Access to MHSS Employer Toolkit
• Access to MHSS A4 poster
• Access to MHSS A5 poster

Rehab4Addiction - COVID-19 & Mental Health guide

The Community Outreach department with Rehab4Addiction serves as an online resource to those dealing with substance addiction

They have now created the following website page 'COVID-19 and mental health guide' which is a useful read or signposting resource to use in your professional practice.

For more information please see the following CPSC News article:

• COVID-19 & Mental Health guide

Ark Behavioural Health - Community Outreach

A center accredited by The Joint Commission considered to be "The Gold Standard" of rehabilitation care.

Our organisation knows everyone’s situation is unique and deserves personalised, evidence-based treatments. 

COVID-19 has impacted the lives of many in 2020. Unfortunately, that also includes the increase of those struggling with substance abuse and mental health by a staggering 40 percent according to the CDC. For that reason, we created the following resource page that shares valuable information for those seeking help while battling addiction and co-occurring conditions: 

• https://www.arkbh.com/covid-19-resources/ 

       On this website page, you’ll find information on:

• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and substance use
• List of mental health and addiction resources
• Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about telehealth
• Caring for a loved one who is struggling

Pharmacist Support

Pharmacist Support is an independent, trusted charity providing a wide variety of support services to pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists and pharmacy students. They listen, without judgement, and compassionately encourage and empower people to create positive change.

Pharmacist Support provide a range of free and confidential support tailored to meet your specific needs.

You can access the Pharmacist Support website by clicking on the image below:

Tips for working from home

Many more of us are finding ourselves working from home and following the national advice around staying in. To help adapt to this new way of working, Nadia Kuftinoff - Wessex AHSN Innovation Adoption Specialist, has written a useful set of hints and tips.

This is a light-hearted guide, so hopefully may also cheer you in these challenging times.

You can download Nadia's guide by clicking on the image below:

Action for Happiness

Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.

Action for Happiness helps people take action for a happier and kinder world. The group provide ideas and resources to enable people to take action at home, at work or in their community.

You can find out more by clicking on the image below:

Action for Happiness is a Registered Charity (1175160) and Company Limited by Guarantee (10722435) in England and Wales.

Resiliency Quiz - How resilient are you?

How do you react to unexpected difficulties?

Resilience is the process of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. Resilient people overcome adversity, bounce back from setbacks, and can thrive under extreme, on-going pressure without acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways. The most resilient people recover from traumatic experiences stronger, better, and wiser.

Take the following short quiz to check out your resiliency:

• http://www.resiliencyquiz.com/index.shtml

Produced by the 'Al Siebert Resiliency Center​'

Psychological First Aid

Public Health England (PHE) has launched a Psychological First Aid (PFA) training module, aimed at all frontline and essential workers and volunteers. The course aims to increase awareness and confidence to provide psychosocial support to people affected by COVID-19. 

PFA is a globally recognised training in emergency situations, and PHE have developed this new course as part of their national incident response, and with the support of NHS England and Health Education England.

The course is free, and no previous qualifications are required.  By the end of the course, outcomes will include:

• understanding how emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic can affect us
• recognise people who may be at increased risk of distress
• how to offer practical and emotional support.

To join the course, please click the following link:

• Psychological First Aid (PFA) training module

Managing from within the team *

Most managers are members of the team they manage. This creates tension between the need to complete your own work and the need to manage the rest of the team.

This eLearning course helps managers to balance these two roles, manage their team’s workload and delegate effectively. It takes you through how to successfully communicate at different levels within your organisation as well as how to avoid or manage conflict within your team.

To enrol on this PCC course, please click the following link:

• eLearning course

* This course is not free, cost of enrolment: £75

Young Minds                                                                                                           

YoungMinds is a leading charity for young person’s mental health support.

They run a parents helpline, which offers free advice and support to any adult who’s worried about the behaviour or mental health of a young person. And they offer training and consultancy to professionals who work with children – including teachers, doctors and mental health services.

Their website provides a huge amount of information and support.

To access YoungMinds visit:

• www.youngminds.org.uk

Only Human: supporting wellbeing during and post COVID-19

The Health Innovation Network South London have produced materials and resources to help you positively impact staff physical and mental health.

Top Tips:

• “You can’t pour from an empty cup”
• Take regular breaks and make use of wellbeing facilities to encourage colleagues to do the same.
• Looking after yourselves is the first step to looking after others.

You can access 'Only Human' and read more tips from the HIN South London colleagues by clicking on the image below:

Better Health Campaign - Public Health England (PHE)

Public Health England has launched a major new adult health campaign to help kick start our health to eat better and get active.

COVID-19 has affected the whole country; for almost everyone, life has had to fundamentally change. But it has also prompted many people to reflect and think more seriously about their health.

The Better Health campaign will start by supporting individuals on their weight loss journey. There is a brand-new 'Better Health' webpage available at:

• www.nhs.uk/BetterHealth

This provides tools to help people manage their weight loss including:

• checking their BMI
• access to the free NHS 12-week weight loss plan - available on a new app
• access to other free support tools
• discounts on a number of well-known weight management providers programmes

Resources for community pharmacies to be able to support this campaign are available on the following PHE Campaign Resource centre website pagenby clicking on the image below: